Max Mosley has proposed that the proceedings regarding McLaren’s possession of Ferrari intellectual property be brought to a close following McLaren’s public apology earlier today. This comes following the publication of the FIA’s technical report which casts new light on how McLaren engineers were planning to use the material obtained from Ferrari’s Nigel Stepney by … Continue reading Mosley proposes halt to McLaren spy investigation

They were thrown out of the 2007 constructors’ championship, fined $100m, and face life at the poor end of the garages in 2008. They signed a double world champion and the sport’s most exciting rookie for years, and the pair fell out horribly. Both missed out on the drivers’ championship by a single point. Their … Continue reading F1 07 review: McLaren

McLaren confirmed today that it will not appeal against its expulsion from the 2007 constructors’ championship and $100m fine it was slapped with in the espionage hearing last week. The team’s statement read: “McLaren thinks it is in the best interests of the sport, and its goal of winning races and world championships, not to … Continue reading McLaren will not appeal spying punishment

What will the consequences of the espionage verdict be for Ferrari, the team whose information was stolen? And perhaps most importantly of all, where does the sport go from here? Further thoughts on the state of play following the spy scandal hearing.

The extraordinary news of yesterday’s decision and the shocking details published by the FIA today have shed new light on the complicated espionage scandal. Although we now know far more than before, many questions remain – some of which we may not see an answer to for a long time, especially if McLaren declines its … Continue reading The questions that remain over the espionage scandal (1/2)

McLaren boss Ron Dennis has hit back at Ferrari in the escalating row over spying in Formula 1. In a letter to Luigi Macaluso, who successfully petitioned the FIA for an appeal against McLaren’s exoneration last week, Dennis accused Ferrari of: Winning the Australian Grand Prix with an illegal car Leaking portions of their memorandum … Continue reading Furious Dennis accuses Ferrari of cheating

McLaren’s escape from yesterday’s World Motor Sports Council hearing without a punishment has been met with criticism. Jean Todt called the verdict “incomprehensible and grave” and threatened an appeal. Renault team boss Flavio Briatore admitted he didn’t understand the decision: “If someone had some advantage from the possession of the material, it would have been … Continue reading McLaren spy verdict: Why the FIA were right

The FIA’s World Motor Sport Council have decided not to punish McLaren following a hearing into the Ferrari spying row. However it has found the team guilty of possessing Ferrari’s documents and described at the penalties may be levied in the future if it emerges that McLaren had used the information: If it is found … Continue reading McLaren not punished in spy case (updated)

One of the members of the FIA World Motor Sports Council, who will pass judgement in the McLaren/Ferrari espionage case in eight days time, made some interesting remarks to the AS newspaper of his native Spain. Here’s a translated portion: It is very hard to prove that McLaren used the information. Normally, and I hope … Continue reading Joaquin Verdegay’s unwise words (Updated)

An interesting post went up on ITV-F1’s forum on Monday. Reading between the lines, the gist of it was, “speculating what Nigel Stepney and Mike Coughlan might have done is not allowed on this board”: As you will appreciate, for legal reasons, we cannot allow user’s posts to include any speculation, potentially libelous or defamatory … Continue reading Stepneygate, sensationalism and censorship

The Nurburgring plays host to the only round of the championship in Germany this year. The absence of Michael Schumacher is largely responsible but, depending who gets the second Spyker seat, there could conceivably be five home drivers on the grid. But the battle for wins is likely to be between the same four drivers … Continue reading European Grand Prix 2007 preview & TV times

Ferrari-McLaren scandal, Stepney-gate, the Ferrari espionage affair – call it what you will, everyone’s talking about it. Lewis Hamilton may be big news in the back pages of newspapers but the increasingly strange details of industrial espionage between F1’s two top teams is commanding column inches in the front pages. Every top sport from football … Continue reading Debate: Stepney scandal good for F1?

The hearings into Mike Coughlan’s reputed involvement in obtaining documents from Ferrari began today and some surprising allegations have been made. Apparently Ferrari first heard of the matter when a photocopying shop in Woking contacted them. It is alleged that Mike Coughlan’s wife Trudy entered the shop earlier that day to duplicate a 780 page … Continue reading Extraordinary details in Ferrari-McLaren spy case

Two further twists in the Nigel Stepney espionage case came today – the most dramatic of which links McLaren employee Mike Coughlan to the scandal. Stepney was officially suspended by the Italian team and it has emerged that McLaren has suspended Coughlan in connection with potentially receiving documents from a Ferrari employee in late April. … Continue reading McLaren linked to Ferrari espionage scandal